Is there anything more quintessentially American, or more summertime appropriate, than fried chicken? Countless movies and TV shows have romanticized this relatively humble dish for me {for instance, I barely remember the plot of Mildred Pierce, but the image of fried chicken shallow frying in a cast iron skillet on the stove of her charming house-turned-restaurant has been seared into my memory forever}. Despite several disastrous home attempts at fried chicken {extremely burnt on the outside and raw on the inside, courtesy of an electric stovetop and no thermometer and slaving over a frying pan for a good two hours to cook two large chickens in separate batches due to overzealously purchasing way too much chicken for four people}, I was recently inspired to give it a go again based on this article and this cover photo. Although I am sure the Bon Appetit recipe needed no improvement, I felt the need to give this classicly southern dish a slightly Asian twist. I marinated the chicken pieces in soy sauce, ginger and garlic, then dredged them in multiple coatings of Old Bay seasoned flour and buttermilk. The brightly colored slaw comprised of red cabbage, carrots, red peppers and green onions was given a decidedly exotic kick courtesy of sesame oil and ginger. The hot pepper sauce in the spicy mayonnaise from the recipe is replaced with Sriracha. And because I cannot seem to get over how easy and delicious these homemade brioche buns are to make {sorry to be so predictable}, I made miniature versions, perfect for sliders. Finally, as an accoutrement, instead of regular dill pickles, I made my mom’s Japanese pickled cucumbers – an English cucumber is sliced thinly then dressed with a mixture of rice wine vinegar and sugar. I cannot express how delicious these sliders were – the chicken was perfectly crisp on the outside, and deliciously juicy on the inside, complemented by just enough heat and spices. Finger licking good indeed.

Recipes continued after the jump>>>

Recipes

Asian Inspired Fried Chicken

4 chicken boneless and skinless chicken breasts {preferably organic}

1/4 c. soy sauce

1/2 inch piece ginger, peeled

1 large garlic clove

2 c. all purpose flour

2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning

1 teaspoon Kosher salt

1 c. buttermilk

Vegetable or peanut oil for frying

Sea salt

Cut each chicken breast into 2 to 3 inch pieces. Place cut chicken pieces into bowl. Pour soy sauce over chicken. Using a microplane, grate ginger and garlic clove over chicken. Stir thoroughly to combine. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use. Mix flour, Old Bay seasoning and kosher salt in large, shallow bowl until combined. Pour buttermilk into separate, large shallow bowl. When ready to fry the chicken, remove chicken from refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature as the oil heats up. Pour oil into large cast iron skillet until at least 1/2 inch deep. Heat oil over medium heat until it registers 350 degrees on a candy thermometer. Dredge a piece of chicken into flour mixture, dip to coat evenly into buttermilk, dredge in flour mixture again, and then place into hot oil carefully. Cook about 2 to 4 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Remove each piece carefully using a slotted spoon or spider. Place cooked chicken on baking rack placed on top of a baking tray. Sprinkle with sea salt. Place in 200 degree oven to keep warm. Repeat with all pieces of chicken, but do not overcrowd pan. To assemble sliders, slice brioche buns in half. Spread butter on each half of brioche bun, place buttered-side down in large skillet over medium high heat. Spread spicy mayo over each side of toasted bun. Place 1 piece of fried chicken on bottom half of bun. Place slaw on top of chicken and top with other half.

Light Brioche Buns

Makes 16 small buns

3 tablespoons warm milk

2 teaspoons active dry yeast

2 1/2 tablespoons sugar

2 large eggs

3 cups bread flour

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

In a glass measuring cup, combine 1 cup warm water, the milk, yeast and sugar. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, beat 1 egg. In a large bowl, whisk flours with salt. Add butter and rub into flour between your fingers, making crumbs. Using a dough scraper, stir in yeast mixture and beaten egg until a dough forms. Scrape dough onto clean, unfloured counter and knead, scooping dough up, slapping it on counter and turning it, until smooth and elastic, 8 to 10 minutes. Shape dough into a ball and return it to bowl. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, 1 to 2 hours. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using dough scraper, divide dough into 16 equal parts. Gently roll each into a ball and arrange 2 to 3 inches apart on baking sheet. Cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel and let buns rise in a warm place for 1 to 2 hours. Set a large shallow pan of water on oven floor. Preheat oven to 400° with rack in center. Beat remaining egg with 1 tablespoon water and brush some on top of buns. Bake, turning sheet halfway through baking, until tops are golden brown, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Japanese Pickled Cucumbers

1 English cucumber

Kosher salt

1/2 c. Japanese rice vinegar

1/4 c. granulated sugar

Red chili flakes, to taste {if desired}

Slice cucumber into thin coins. Place sliced cucumbers into a colander set inside sink – spread slices evenly inside of colander. Sprinkle liberally with Kosher salt. Let stand for 10 minutes, stirring so ensure cucumber slices are evenly coated with salt, then rinse thoroughly with cold water. Heat vinegar, sugar and chili flakes {if using} in a small saucepan over medium heat until sugar is dissolved {about 2 minutes}. Pour vinegar mixture over cucumbers. Set aside and let marinate until ready to eat. Can be refrigerated for up to 48 hours.

Sesame and Ginger Slaw

1 small head red cabbage, sliced thinly

2 large carrots, julienned

1 small bunch green onions, sliced thinly into 3 inch long strips

1 red bell pepper, deseeded and sliced thinly into 3 inch long strips

1/2 c. Japanese rice vinegar

1/4 c. granulated sugar

Red chili flakes, to taste {if desired}

1 tablespoons sesame oil

1/4 inch piece ginger, peeled

Sea salt, to taste

Place cut cabbage, carrots, green onions and pepper into large bowl. Heat vinegar, sugar and chili flakes {if using} in a small saucepan over medium heat until sugar is dissolved {about 2 minutes}. Pour into small jug and whisk in sesame oil. Using a microplane, grate ginger into jug. Season with sea salt to taste and whisk again. Pour dressing over slaw to taste – you may not need all of it.

Spicy Mayo

1/4 c. mayonnaise

2 teaspoons Sriracha

1 teaspoon sea salt

Mix mayonnaise, Sirracha and sea salt to combine. Place in refrigerator until ready to use.

Lindsay, so tasty looking! I have always loved the idea of fried chicken, but was always turned off by the idea of deep frying. But gosh darn do these sliders look delicious! And homemade brioche buns and that slaw — glorious! I love the Asian spin you added to this; a lovely homage to your mom =)

Your pics are always so inspiring, Lindsay; they are just so welcoming and light =)

Haha – deep frying is not exactly, um, glamorous?! The thought of pouring entire bottles of oil into a deep pan sort of freaks me out. I have since discovered shallow frying, which is slightly less offensive to me! 🙂 Thank you so much for your kind, supportive words Christina – you make all of this blogging nonsense worth it! I am excited you are moving to Cali! We will have to meet up one of these days…

LOL, man, ditto with you on the pouring entire bottles of oil into a deep pan, Lindsay. I’ve historically just thrown my hands up and left it to the frying pros 😉 And you are totally welcome, girl. I just think it’s important to honor and acknowledge awesome work of other and of peers you esteem … this blogging business is such hard work sometimes, it’s good to spread the love and support one another, you know? =)

And yes! I would love to meet up one of these days. Let’s make it happen!

The Fine Print

Unless otherwise specified, all content, recipes and photographs on this site were created by Lindsay for Fleur de Sel.

I do my absolute best to link back to photos found from other sources, both via click-throughs and image credit listings. Feel free to use photos and recipes from this site, but please link back to this blog as your source.